Session 7

Minorities in a Muslim Society:

Christians and Jews in Al-Andalus
1. Christians (Mozarabs) in Al-Andalus

2. Jews in Al-Andalus
1. Christians (Mozarabs) in Al-
Andalus
Mozarabs

Arabic musta'rab
‘arabised’, ‘one who
claims to be an
Arab without being
so’, Castilian
mozarabes

Christians in al-
Andalus who
preserved
Christianity
communities of
Mozarabs in al-
Andalus

– mainly in cities

– mainly in
Toledo
central and
southern parts
Mérida

Cordoba

Sevilla

the Mozarab communities

Mozarabs communities

to the Christians in a-Andalus, as dhimmis, granted religious and

political autonomy, under domination of Islam

Muslims

Mozarabs
Mozarabs communities

to the Christians in a-Andalus, as dhimmis, granted right to

govern themselves

sec ular leaders religious leaders

qumis, comes (count) usquf , episcopus (bishop)

Mozarab c ommunity
Christians (religious and
secular leaders, and
others) served Muslim
rulers

– as officials in courts

– in special tasks

– as ambassadors
Muslims and Christians lived
side by side

certain prohibitions

Muslims should not use

Christian monasteries as
wine-bars
2. Jews in Al-Andalus
Jews the diaspora

the presence of Jews in Hispania

– Roman period (4th-5th centuries)

– Visigothic Period (6th-8th centuries)

Iberian cities: Tarragona, Tortosa, Sagunt, Elx, Córdoba, Mérida…

communities part of the Jews under Muslim rule

diaspora

diaspora, Greek
'scattering', refers to
Jewish communities
living

• among the gentiles

• outside the Holy Land

(Canaan, Israel,
Palestine)
Jews the diaspora

these communities were ruled until the 10th century by

– the exilarch of Baghdad

the head of diaspora (rosh ha-golah)

appointed judges (dayyanim)

– the geonim of Babylonia

the heads of academies (rosh ha-yeshivah)

trained judges (dayyanim)

Jews the diaspora

the academies (yeshivah)

– where Talmud (Tradition, Torah Sheb’al Peh) was taught

– where Jewish religious practice (rites) was defined

– where Jewish religious law (halakah) was defined

Sepharad, the Jewish
name for Iberia

– Sephardic Jews
Ashkenaz
Ashkenazic Jews

Jews living in Muslim

and Christian Iberia
(Sepharad) Sepharad
Sephardic Jews

– Ashkenazic Jews

Jews living in
Northwest Europe
(Askhenaz)
Jews Sepharad

foundation of Sepharad: Jews of Iberia cut off dependence from

East

Hasday ibn Shaprut, of Cordoba (circa 910-970), linked to court of

Abd al-Rahman III

• adopted title of nagid (prince), head of Jews of Sepharad

• appointed Moses ben Hanok as rav rosh (chief rabbi) of yeshiva of

Cordoba
Jews communities

communities of Jews

can be found mainly in the cities of al-Andalus

Cordoba, Granada, Saragossa, Seville, Toledo

Jews communities

to Jews in a-Andalus, as dhimmis, granted religious and political

autonomy, under domination of Islam

Muslims

Jews
Jews communities

to Jews in a-Andalus, as dhimmis, granted right to govern

themselves

sec ular leaders religious leaders

muqaddam , the local rabbis
executive, assisted by the
elders

Jewish c ommunity
Jews courtiers

Jewish communities of Muslim Iberia (10th and 11th centuries)

headed by

– men who were the Jewish elite

– men linked to the court of the Muslim ruler (courtiers)

served as officials (visiers), as physicians, as translators, as diplomats

Jews courtiers

the period of the caliphate

Hasday ibn Shaprut (circa 910-970), in Cordoba

• served as physician in the court of Abd al-Rahman III

• served as diplomat in Byzantium and Germany

• served as translator of the De materia medica of Dioscorides

Jews courtiers

the period of taifas

– Yekutiel ibn Hassan (died 1039), taifa of Saragossa

– Samuel ibn Naghrila (died 1056), taifa of Granada

– Joseph ibn Naghrila (died 1066), taifa of Granada

– Abraham ibn Muhajir (died circa 1100), taifa of Seville

Jews courtiers

period of caliphate and of taifas

– Jews as part of administration of the Muslim ruler

– Jews ruling over Muslims in the name of Muslim ruler

the case of Jewish viziers

Samuel ibn Naghrila, Granada

Jews courtiers

the Jewish elite, a distinctive group ethos

– better Jews

– richer Jews

– stronger Jews

– wiser Jews
Jews courtiers

wiser Jews

– spoke Arabic

– read Arabic poets and scholars

– acted as patrons and promoters of arts and sciences

wiser Jews promoted
synthesis of Arabic culture A
(Arabic)
learning and Jewish
learning (secular)

culture B
(Jewish)
Jews courtiers

an example: poetry

revival of Hebrew language and literature (Golden Age)

• assimilation of forms and themes of Arabic poetry

• assimilation of Arabic culture

• cultural sharing, interaction